Category Archives: Nature

Heron: The Quiet Romantic to the Strongly Dramatic

Kelly Clampitt – Heron at Rest

Kelly is the new owner of a home surrounded by acres of land and, as a bonus, two small ponds: new photographic opportunities just steps out the front door. She quickly took advantage of this fact as these two images show. The first is almost otherworldly as it portrays nature at its most placid. The lighting is ideal with a softness appropriate to the scene and a composition that emphasizes the heron and it’s surroundings (think Rule of Thirds). The background frames the bird perfectly and the diffuse foreground foliage adds a depth to the image which is most pleasing. Even our fans of B&W would have to agree that the colors are a strong component in this particular image.

The image below is a dramatic change as the heron takes flight, panned by Kelly as it departs the frame in a profusion of color. Kelly snapped the shutter with no time to spare. Very pleasing effect as the heron exits the frame.

The Much Ballyhooed “Super” Moon

“Super” Moon – Leander Hutton

How fortunate that we have this near neighbor, easily taken for granted but try to imagine how different the world would be without it. Leander enjoys “looking up” (he studied astronomy at ASU, his passion) and it’s only appropriate that he would find a clear night to capture the “biggest and brightest”, at least for this year, on June 22. Quoting Leander, “While it was hyped as such by the media it wasn’t that much bigger than last month’s full moon, in fact you wouldn’t notice it by looking. The moon’s total angular size only varies by around 15% or so from apogee to perigee, which isn’t really enough for humans to pick up on without equipment to measure the change.” He continues, “It was taken with an 80mm refractor telescope with a focal length of 400mm hooked to a D7000. The 80mm is the diameter of the aperture which is the primary spec usually quoted when talking about telescopes. This is actually three exposures combined in Photoshop to create an HDR with contrast and clarity adjusted in Lightroom. The HDR tone mapping is a toned down to make it look less cartoonish.” The final image is very sharp and detailed.